HSDA Member Spotlight: Amie Sigur
By Kevin Kim
The Progressive Teen Contributor
FEBRUARY 14TH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE ANY OTHER, NORMAL DAY FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN AMERICA: a day of socializing with friends, staring at the classroom clock, and complaining about homework. However, a horrific scene occurred at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida: the deadliest high school shooting in United States history. This shooting not only stole seventeen bright minds from our society, but it also invigorated the issue of gun control and youth activism. The reaction to this shooting was unlike any other; the youth was speaking up. This shooting’s impact was pervasive, spreading like a shockwave through high schoolers across the nation, one of them being Amie Sigur.
Amie Sigur, a high school senior attending Haynes Academy for Advanced Studies in Metairie, Louisiana, recalled her reaction when hearing of the Parkland shooting. “The first thing these students had on their [Twitter] profiles were, ‘I’m ok,’ and when I saw these messages, I was shaking…It’s so scary how realistic this all was,” Amie said.
Amie was no stranger to the incoming gun control debate. As mass shootings are becoming more frequent in our American society, Amie knew that there was a need to acknowledge what was happening, that there was “an elephant in the room, and it was a problem needed to be addressed.” As a member of High School Democrats of America and National Social Studies Honor Society (Rho Khappa), Amie is a person of action. When she heard of the National Walkout, she was set on participating and getting her friends to participate. Then came the school administration. The walkout was prohibited by the administration, but this was not going to stop Amie. “I was willing to face academic consequences to stand up for what I believed in…I knew me walking out wouldn’t mean much, but I also knew that it was a symbol of solidarity. That was important to me.” Having been in a class full of conservative peers, Amie had experience working things out and having discussions with those she disagreed with. Instead of defiantly disregarding the administration’s clear message, she instead worked with the administration to plan a memorial for the lives lost. The memorial would be completely student-led.
Amie set out on planning the memorial with a group of her close friends. Her goal was to “draw parallels between the victims and the people speaking for the victims to foster a personal message.” This way, even through a memorial, students and teachers would know the impact inaction would have. Amie worked with the Muslim Student Association, the National Honor Society, and YAF (a young conservative organization) to work out all the logistics of the memorial. At first, it was expected that the memorial would be during a lunch period, but through her negotiation skills, a whole class period was dedicated to the memorial.
The memorial was set. Students poured into the gymnasium’s stands, attendance exceeding all expectations. Nearly the entire school was present. The speakers for the victims were of different backgrounds, including ROTC members and students of immigrant parents. None of these students were trained public speakers. “People who usually had anxiety speaking in front of people had no anxiety when speaking for victims…that was so powerful to me,” Amie recalled. “This memorial opened doors and let me find other people who had similar views and were willing to have conversations with people from the other side [of the political spectrum.]”
However, Amie knew the memorial didn’t solve or answer any of the questions brought up by the school shooting. She wonders if the problem of school shootings will still exist when she has children. “We have a cycle that’s becoming tiring…we have a school shooting quite often, many that we don’t even hear of. And yet, shootings keep occurring and ‘thoughts and prayers’ only do so much. Our politicians are beating around the bush and are going off to unrelated topics of student importance.”
Amie believes that now, with students finding their voice, it’s only a matter of time until a solution is found. These shootings fueled Amie with anger and sparked the momentous force of change inside her. Protesting in the Women’s March and becoming a member of the High School Democrats of America was only the beginning for Amie and her path to activism.
It is no longer Amie, student. It is now Amie, youth activist.
